Part 48

Mr. Worrell, the Registrar of the Gray’s Inn-lane District:—“To ascertain and compare the healthy with the unhealthy parts of my district, I have placed against each street the whole number of deaths from all causes during the last five years. I have taken the number of deaths from a population of 5000, resident in what I consider healthy streets; and I have also taken the number of deaths from a population of 5000, resident in streets which I consider unhealthy. The 5000 occupying the best houses are composed of merchants, professional gentlemen, and the richer class of tradesmen; they occupy 728 houses, containing about 7800 good rooms; the streets are wide, well drained, and have a plentiful supply of water. The 5000 occupying the unhealthy streets are composed of the lower class of tradesmen, journeymen mechanics, labourers, and costermongers; they occupy 431 houses, containing about 2800 rooms, the best of which are little better than the worst of the 7800 before mentioned; the streets are mostly confined, the drains in a bad state, and in many places the accumulation of filth renders the atmosphere foul, whilst the supply of water is not very good. The number of deaths which I find in the healthy-streets during five years, amongst a population of 5000, amounts to 325; and, during the same period, amongst 5000 occupying the unhealthy streets I find 613. No doubt, many of the residents in the best houses go into the country, with the view of benefiting their health, and there die; but certain it is that many more of the poorer classes die in the workhouses and hospitals—so that, no doubt, amongst a certain number of poor, at least two deaths occur to one amongst the same number of rich. Having been a collector of rates upwards of 25 years, and, as a house agent, having had much to do with the letting of houses, I am thoroughly acquainted with the neighbourhood; and, having taken an active part in collecting and distributing voluntary contributions in times of distress and severe weather, I have been enabled to judge of the condition of the poor and their habitations, and I have always observed that sickness prevails much more in places where sewers and drains are bad than in other parts where the inhabitants are equally poor, but have more wholesome houses to live in. Any suggestion here as to remedy may, probably, be considered out of place, but, having had much experience as a Commissioner of Pavements, as well as in several offices of local management during the last 25 years, and having given much attention to the subject (an evil which, in my opinion, affects the metropolis to an extent little imagined), I have no doubt as to the means of remedy, and improvement in the local administration living perfectly easy and effectual.”

“In another classification he arranges, from descriptions of streets with nearly equal population, the highest in each class; the relative proportions, and average ages of deaths, are ascertained to be as follows:—

Population. Deaths. Average Age of Death. Class 1 1432 97 35 Class 2 1465 119 32 Class 3 1448 157 25 Class 4 1386 200 21

“The above statement proves that, out of a population of 1432 occupying the best houses, 95 deaths occurred within five years, 29 of which, at and under five years of age; and that out of a population of 1386, occupying the worst houses, the whole number of deaths are one hundred and eighty-nine, one hundred and four of which at and under five years of age.”

Footnote 55:

Mr. F. Hutchinson, the Registrar of the South District:—State generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“The drainage of all or most of these courts and houses is exceedingly defective. About a year ago, for instance, I thought it my duty to complain to the local authorities respecting a privy in Hanging-sword-alley, that had been full for a great length of time, and could not have been used, but for a hole just below the seat, by means of which the fluid contents flowed into the open gutter. The effluvia from these houses arising from the defective state of the drains is most offensive. In some houses there are only cesspools in the cellars, which are emptied only once in from six months to three years. Water is supplied from the New River three times a-week for about two hours. In many of the houses, water-pipes have never been laid down, and in others the Company have stopped the supplies, in consequence of non-payment. Some of these places, and in particular Plumtree-court, are in a most filthy state. Offal, accumulations of dirt, and the refuse of vegetables, &c, lying in the gutters. The houses are generally remarkable for their dirty and uncomfortable appearance, and are mostly without any proper receptacle for dirt and ashes. The population is very dense; 15 to 20, and, I am informed, sometimes 30 persons, inhabiting one house, consisting of six rooms. The general condition of the population is very bad, particularly as regards the women and children, who are more confined to these localities than the men, the latter being generally employed elsewhere during the day-time. Many of the persons renting these houses suffer in pocket by letting lodgings to parties who never pay; and in health, by thus crowding their families, so as to induce disease and infectious disorders.”

Footnote 56:

Mr. C. H. Rich, the Registrar of the Mile End New Town District, observes:—“With reference as to the healthy and unhealthy streets in my district, I have been carefully through my books, and I cannot particularize any one place more than another. The drainage is very bad; the hamlet is drained principally by surface drainage, which empties itself into a ditch which is uncovered. It runs along the north side of the hamlet, which makes it very unwholesome; there has, within the last three years, been a sewer made (down High-street and Well-street), which has much improved that part of the district. The hamlet has been much improved within the last four years as regards the paving of several of the streets which were in a most filthy state; they are now under the commission. If Luke-street and Underwood-street, which contain about 50 houses in each street, were paved, it would be a great improvement, and no doubt beneficial to health. For want of proper sewerage, the health of the hamlet is generally bad.”

Footnote 57:

Mr. N. Bowring, the Registrar of the district Haggerstone West, specifies as the seats of the greatest mortality,—“Philips-street, Edward-street, Mill-row, Wilmer-gardens, and the upper part of Hoxton Old Town (east side), in which the principal diseases are typhus fever, consumption, inflammation of the lungs, and scarlatina. Two of those places mentioned above, namely, Mill-row and Wilmer-gardens, are without drainage; but at the back of the west end of Philips-street, south side of Edward-street, and at the back of the upper end of Hoxton Old Town, is an open ditch, almost a dead level, in which filth of every description is thrown. I believe it is under the management of the Commissioners of Sewers, but is seldom cleaned out; the stench emitted, particularly in the summer months, is almost intolerable, and is considered by the inhabitants as the sole cause of much illness and death. Drainage very deficient. Water supplied three times a week. The people generally of cleanly habits.”

Footnote 58:

Mr. George Pearse, the Registrar for the St. John the Evangelist District, thus describes the condition of the places in the lower districts, where the greatest mortality occurs:—“Great Peter-street, Perkin’s rents, Duck-lane, and Old Pye-street, are the most densely populated in the district. The houses in Great Peter-street, for the most part, are very old, irregular, and uncleanly. Occupied by tradesmen and small shopkeepers, together with labourers, mechanics, and others of uncertain earnings. The houses in the other three streets are often occupied by 10 or 12 persons in one room, most of them of the lowest grade in society, such as mendicants, hawkers, costermongers, lodging-house-keepers, thieves, and abandoned females of irregular and intemperate habits. Their food chiefly consists of salt-fish and other scraps, collected by the mendicants and disposed of to the general dealers. The houses are, for the most part, very low, filthy, and dilapidated, badly drained, and indifferently supplied with water. There are other unwholesome nuisances arising from the collecting and boiling bones, soap, and tallow, &c. Holland-street, Medway-street, Marlborough-place. New Peter-street, with several other avenues, surrounding an extensive waste (formerly the site of Marlborough square) oftentimes nearly covered with stagnant water. The houses are small, very dirty, and dilapidated, low in situation, without any drainage, having stagnant waters back and front; some in the occupation of the labouring class, and laundresses low in the scale, irregular in their earnings and habits. Many cases of typhoid fever have occurred here, and several recently. Rochester-row, Strutton-ground, and Artillery-square, are thickly populated by tradesmen of all kinds and others; they are without sewerage or proper drainage; the first having an open ditch through the centre for the greater part; and the occupiers of the latter are under the necessity of pumping out into the open street (generally at night) the offensive water that collects in the cesspools within their dwellings. Part of Vauxhall-bridge road, which is contiguous to Douglas-street, Bentinck-street and place, with sundry other small streets or places communicating with them on the one side, and Upper and Lower Garden-street, with Dean’s-place, on the other. The houses are small and numerous; inhabited by labourers, laundresses, costermongers, and others; without proper drainage, having open ditches and stagnant waters in their vicinity. Typhus and scarlatina have been frequent here, and several deaths therefrom have occurred within the last few weeks. In Causton-street the houses are small, populous, with courts or places occupied by labourers generally, and an open ditch in front. Ship-court, with Cottage-place, is situated very low; composed of small, ill-ventilated, dirty, dilapidated houses; thickly inhabited by labourers and others of very low and irregular earnings and habits; adjoining several large dilapidated premises, with extensive wastes or yards used as pig and cow-yards, or for the purpose of collecting slop-soil and other filth, left evaporating in the open air, without sewerage or proper drainage. Vine-street, with Champion’s-alley, York-buildings in Grub-street, on one side, and Scott’s-rents on the other, for the most part are small old houses, peopled by the labouring classes, with bad drainage, and the wharfs in Millbank-street, for the deposit of slop-soil and other nuisance.”

Footnote 59:

Mr. J. Verrall, the Registrar of the St. John’s District.—“The following places appear to me to be unhealthy from the absence of all habit of cleanliness in most of the inhabitants; the want of drainage; the ruinous condition of the houses; the number of lay-stalls, in which filth of all kinds is accumulated, and the number of pigs kept in the neighbourhood,—King-street, Queen-street, Gold-street, Ship-street, Hilliard’s court, and Pruson’s island. In the following places (in addition to the foregoing) the houses appear unhealthily crowded and very dirty, with inadequate means of ventilation, namely, Church’s-gardens, New-court, Crown-place, Miner-court, Macord’s-rents, Ellis-court, Petrie-court, Hampton-court, Rycroft’s-court, and Matthew’s-court.”

Footnote 60:

Mr. George Lee, the Registrar of the St. Giles’ South District reports generally, as to the condition of the worst parts of the district, that they are characterized by insufficient drainage, indifferent supply of water, cleanliness neglected.

Mr. John Yardley, Registrar of St. George, Bloomsbury District.—“They are places without a thoroughfare to (two of them are built many feet below the surface of the street adjoining), and surrounded with houses of much greater height.”

Footnote 61:

Mr. W. Fitch, the Registrar of the St. Clement Danes’ District, describes the houses of the lower classes as excessively crowded.—“The number of persons sleeping in the same rooms are generally the whole family, from two to six persons, and often more. I beg to observe, that where persons occupy different rooms in one house they are generally very particular in keeping the doors of their rooms closed for the purpose of preventing others passing up and down stairs overlooking their abode, thereby causing a very great check to ventilation. Washing clothes, and placing them to dry in the rooms during the night, is another inconvenience the wretchedly poor are labouring under in many parts of my district, and this to a great extent.”

Footnote 62:

Mr. C. Mears, Registrar of Waterloo-road, No. 1 District.—In what parts of your district has the number of deaths registered in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion to the population?—“In the undermentioned parts:—Whitehorse-street, Wootton-street, Windmill-street, Windmill-row, Little Windmill-street, and courts, Isabella-place, Broadwall, Cornwall-road and place, Cottage-place, Commercial road, Bond-place and Commercial-buildings, Princes court, Eaton-street, Brad-street, Roupell-street, New-street, Mitre-place, John-street, Salutation-place.” And state generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“In the above places there is very imperfect drainage; very few have any communication with the sewers. The houses have cesspools, and the water runs to waste and settles on the surface, leaving the lower parts of the houses damp. Supplies of water tolerably good; cleanliness, indifferent.”

Mr. J. Green, Registrar of Waterloo-road, No. 2.—In what parts of your district has the greatest number of deaths occurred from small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, cholera, influenza, or fever (typhus)?—“Juston-street, Hooper-street, Whiting-street, Apollo-buildings, courts and streets adjacent, Charles-street, Harriot-street, Frazier-street, Lucretia-street, James street, Barnes-terrace, Granby-place and Granby-gardens, Burdett street, Francis street.” And state generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“In the above-named streets the drainage is very imperfect, and much filthy water is thrown often into the streets. A plentiful supply of water. Many pay but little attention to cleanliness. Densely populated. In many houses from four to eight or nine in one room.”

Footnote 63:

Mr. R. Bell, the Registrar of the Kent-road District:—In what parts or your district has the number of deaths registered in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion to the population?—“There are many close, filthy courts in this district; in these, the deaths are uniformly the highest; and the local registration does not correctly show this fact, for the people inhabiting them are very poor, and in extreme illness are often removed either to the workhouse or the hospitals, and they die in those places.” And state generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses as to drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“Drainage,—open gutters choked, and pits of stagnant water. Supplies of water—good supply from water works. Cleanliness—as a general rule they seldom attend to this, unless they expect a visit from the medical or other officers: they excuse it by stating that they have to work for their living. The people live very close in small rooms; have often more than one bed in a room. Beds are made of straw and shavings to sleep on, and a great number sleep on the floor; from three to ten persons in a room; almost every room is a sleeping-room.”

Mr. J. Bedwell, the Registrar of the Borough-road District;—In what parts of your district has the number of deaths registered in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion to the population?—“My district, formerly nearly a square, bounded on the west by about 50 houses in Blackfriars-road; on the south, by about 70, in the Borough road; on the east, by about the same number in Blackman-street, and partly on the north by Wellington-street; I find the greatest number of deaths in proportion to the population in the small streets within the above quadrangle. Drainage very deficient; supply of water plentiful; cleanliness little attended to by a great number. The density of population extreme. Small houses with a family in each room. We have lodging-houses in the Mint where from 50 to 150 sleep nightly; 10 large beds in one room in some of them.”

Footnote 64:

Mr. J. Paul, the Registrar of St. James’s District.—In what parts of your district has the greatest number of deaths occurred from small-pox, measles, scarlatina, hooping-cough, diarrhœa, dysentery, cholera, influenza, or fever (typhus)? And in what parts have epidemic diseases been most fatal?—“I do not know. Neither small-pox, scarlatina, measles, whooping-cough, diarrhœa, nor influenza has been peculiarly localized. My experience of a longer date as surgeon to the poor of the district leads me to believe that cholera, dysentery, and typhus fever have been more prevalent in London-street and its vicinity, and the Tar-yard. In both these places drainage is bad; and the inhabitants of the former locality obtain their supply of water from a running ditch—a common receptacle for everything, where a hundred cloacina empty themselves. Drainage is bad in many parts of the district; lots of small houses are built; streets of a better description unfinished; their proprietors, who look only to the cash returns, pay little attention to the drainage or cleanliness. There appears to be no remedy for these calamities. The supply of water is now pretty good.”

Footnote 65:

Mr. George Reynolds, the Registrar of the Church District, in answer to the question, In what parts of your district has the number of deaths registered in the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842 been the greatest in proportion to the population? states. “In Beckford-row, Elliot-row, Alfred-place, Camden-gardens, Pitt-street, Pott-street, Camden-street, Wolverley-street, New York-street, and Ponderson-gardens.” And state generally the condition of those unhealthy streets, courts, and houses, as to drainage, supplies of water, cleanliness.—“The places I have named are entirely without drainage. Supply of water, one hand-cock to many houses. Cleanliness, great want of.” Name any particular streets or parts which, according to the facts that have fallen under your notice, appear to you to be healthy, and with reference to the points adverted to in the preceding question, compare the healthy with the unhealthy portions of your district.—“My entire district, I think, would be in a much more healthy condition had we efficient drainage; instead of which, even this, the main road of the parish, is without a sewer, notwithstanding the Commissioners of Sewers have been repeatedly memorialized, and the following fact brought under their notice, that the cellars of the houses do not extend to the depth of 3 feet 6 inches below the level of the carriage-road, and yet there is an average of 18 inches of water during the greater part of the winter season, that many persons are obliged to use the pump for many hours daily to preserve their property.” He gives the following letter from a medical officer of great experience:—

“289, Bethnal-green-road, October 31st, 1842.

“Dear Reynolds,—As you are aware, I have attended many of the inhabitants of this road and its vicinity, and I do not hesitate to say that many of their diseases are to be attributed entirely to the want of drainage. They are—1st, febrile diseases; 2nd, diseases of the respiratory organs; 3rd, nervous diseases; 4th, diseases of the digestive organs; and lastly, cachectic diseases. Of the first kind, the very numerous cases of fever in the undrained districts that occur shortly after the autumnal rains, I take in the light of cause and effect. Rheumatism (acute and chronic) are the result of sleeping in houses the walls of which absorb the surface water and elevate it by capillary attraction to the height of two or three feet. The diseases of the respiratory and digestive organs are above the average number, and are attributable to the same cause. The nervous diseases I attribute to the poisonous gases exhaled from putrifying matter. They are—1st, epilepsy. In two families this disease attacked every one of the younger branches of the family, and they were cured by removal to another district. Many cases of spasm of a particular muscle, as one or two of the muscles of the face, the large muscle in front of the neck, and even some of the muscles of the arm; also frequent cases of the most inveterate hysteria, have been temporarily relieved by removal, and have returned again on their return home. Of the cachectic diseases, some are produced, others aggravated, by this cause. Scrofula is of this latter description. The cases of the children in your own family show that it is impossible to prevent suppuration when the patient is constantly breathing a humid atmosphere. This has also been the case with one of your immediate neighbours. That form of scrofula termed tabes mesenterica, I think, is, in many cases, brought on entirely by the same cause. Want of time prevents my extending the example of diseases attributable to this cause.

“I am, dear Reynolds, yours truly, “T. TAYLOR.”